Group Offers Guidance on Treating Primary Ovarian Insufficiency with Hormone Therapy

By Kelly Young

Edited by Susan Sadoughi, MD, and André Sofair, MD, MPH

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has released new recommendations on using hormone therapy to treat primary ovarian insufficiency, which can occur in women with Turner syndrome or isochromosome X, or who've required chemotherapy or pelvic radiation.

Among the recommendations:

• As a first-line therapy, oral or transdermal hormone therapy can be used to ease symptoms of hypoestrogenism; reduce long-term risks for osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, and urogenital atrophy; and improve quality of life.

• Low bone mass first should be managed with hormone therapy, not bisphosphonates.

• For women seeking to prevent pregnancy, combined hormonal contraceptives are more effective than hormone therapy. A levonorgestrel intrauterine device is another acceptable option.

• Women should continue receiving treatment until they reach the average age of natural menopause, 50 to 51 years.